Hurricane makes third U.S. landfall at Coney Island.

NEW YORK (AP) — The National Hurricane Center in Miami says that Irene has lost hurricane strength and made landfall a third U.S. landfall on New York's Coney Island. Earlier on Sunday, it had made landfall in southern N.J.

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Posted Aug. 28, 2011 at 6:33 AM
Updated Aug 28, 2011 at 9:37 AM

Posted Aug. 28, 2011 at 6:33 AM
Updated Aug 28, 2011 at 9:37 AM

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NEW YORK (AP) — The National Hurricane Center in Miami says that Irene has lost hurricane strength and made landfall a third U.S. landfall on New York's Coney Island. Earlier on Sunday, it had made landfall in southern N.J.

Forecasters say Irene's winds have fallen to 65 mph. and has been downgraded to tropical storm status.

They say Irene should move over New England by the afternoon. Officials also warn that isolated tornadoes are possible in the northeast throughout the morning.

Broadway, baseball and most other things were shuttered in New York, where the transit system stopped because of weather for the first time in history. Mayor Michael Bloomberg warned late Saturday that no matter whether residents of low-lying areas heeded his calls to evacuate, "The time for evacuation is over. Everyone should now go inside and stay inside."

Hours before the storm's center was to reach New York, a 58 mph wind gust hit John F. Kennedy International Airport and a storm surge of more than 3.5 feet was reported in New York Harbor.

National Weather Service meteorologist Ashley Sears said a storm surge of 4 to 8 feet was expected to rush in just before the eye crosses land. Wind and rain should start diminishing by midafternoon, but if the storm surge deluges Lower Manhattan, the water could linger for hours or even a day.

By Sunday morning, the storm had sustained winds of 75 mph, down from 100 mph on Friday. That's just 1 mph more than the 74 mph minimum for a Category 1 hurricane, the least threatening on a 1-to-5 scale.

The total extent of damage Saturday was unclear, but officials and residents in some areas were relieved to find their communities with relatively minor problems. Forecasters said the storm remained capable of causing ruinous flooding with a combination of storm surge, high tides and 6 to 12 inches of rain.

"Everything is still in effect," National Hurricane Center spokesman Dennis Feltgen said. "The last thing people should do is go outside. They need to get inside and stay in a safe place until this thing is over."

Tornadoes were reported in Virginia, Maryland and Delaware, and several warnings were issued elsewhere, including New York and Philadelphia.

Irene caused flooding from North Carolina to Delaware, both from the seven-foot waves it pushed into the coast and from heavy rain. Eastern North Carolina got 10 to 14 inches of rain, according to the National Weather Service. Virginia's Hampton Roads area was drenched with at least nine inches, with 16 reported in some spots.

More than one million of the homes and businesses without power were in Virginia and North Carolina, the first states in the path of Irene's eye. Then the storm knocked out power overnight to hundreds of thousands in Washington, D.C., Maryland, Delaware, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, the New York City area and Connecticut.

In Virginia, three people were killed by falling trees and about 100 roads were closed. Emergency crews around the region prepared to head out at daybreak to assess the damage, though with some roads impassable and rivers still rising, it could take days.

Some held out optimism that their communities had suffered less damage than they had feared.

"I think it's a little strong to say we dodged a bullet. However, it certainly could have turned out worse for the Hampton Roads area," said National Weather Service meteorologist Mike Montefusco.